Midweek Preview: Rematch With the Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - UNF baseball completes a four-game road stint with its second midweek game of the season at Florida when the Ospreys go to Gainesville tomorrow evening to face No. 4 UF at 6 p.m.

GAME DETAILS
Date: Tuesday, April 25
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Opponent: Florida
Watch: SECN+
Live Stats: statbroadcast.com

All-Time Series vs. Florida: UF leads, 18-7

UNF and Florida are facing off for the 26th time
It's the second contest on the season for UNF at Condron Family Ballpark
UF has won five-straight in the series
UNF had a 2-0 lead through four and a half innings in the last meeting, but UF scored four in the fifth to take the lead for good

Last Time Out
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty (19-20, 10-8 ASUN) scored early on and stayed ahead as North Florida (22-18, 8-10 ASUN) baseball dropped the rubber game in Virginia, 9-3, Sunday, April 23.

Last Time vs. Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Righty Clayton Boroski held the nation's leader in home runs without a baserunner for four innings, but the No. 5/4 Gators were able to get some timely hits down the stretch as UNF's early lead wasn't enough in a 7-2 loss at Florida (16-3) Tuesday, March 14.

Projected Starting Pitchers
UNF | RHP Avery Love
UF | RHP Yoel Tejeda Jr.

Dominant Madonna

UNF baseball took a game in the road series at Liberty, the last series between the two teams as league foes
North Florida won game two, 8-3, behind a nine-inning complete game effort from righty Dominick Madonna
Madonna spun 128 pitches, 30 more than his previous career high, setting an innings pitched career high as well
It was the first complete game by a UNF righty since 2019. The last UNF righty to throw a nine-inning complete game was Nick Marchese in April of 2019.

Clutch Cherokee

Cherokee Nichols is coming off a clutch week that saw him hit .450 over five games, going 9-for-20 with five runs, one double, two home runs, 10 RBI, three walks and 16 total bases
Nichols hit a solo home run to leadoff the seven-run eighth inning during the 10-inning win against Florida State
He followed with a game-tying two-RBI double in the bottom of the tenth, scoring the winning run just moments later
He also hit a grand slam in the first inning of Saturday's win against Liberty

Brooks Wallace Watch List

Alex Lodise was tabbed to the Brooks Wallace Watch List last week
The freshman phenom was also named ASUN Player of the Week April 3, the first UNF freshman to earn that distinction since Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist Donnie Dewees in 2013
Lodise joined former UNF assistant coach, Andrew Hannon, as Brooks Wallace Watch List selections

Scouting No. 4/4 Florida

Florida is 31-10 and 11-7 in SEC play, touting a 23-6 record at home
The Gators are coming off a tough series at No. 6 South Carolina as the Gators were swept in Columbia
Florida enters as the No. 4 ranked team per the DI Baseball and USA Today Coaches Poll
Florida likes to hit for extra-bases. UF ranks in the top ten in the country in home runs, home runs per game, slugging and triples
Prior to this past weekend, UF hadn't lost consecutive games all year
Closer Brandon Neely paces the SEC in saves with seven
Shortstop Josh Rivera and two-way player Jac Caglianone headline a star-studded Florida roster. Rivera was recognized on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, while Caglianone was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List

MORE UNF NOTES

Got Their Number

UNF also picked up a quality in-state win against USF last Tuesday, with North Florida downing the Bulls, 10-0, in a run-rule victory against South Florida
The win gave UNF the season sweep of USF as well as its seventh-straight victory in the head-to-head series
UNF won with consecutive sweeps for the first time since 2015

Wild as They Go

North Florida won one of the wildest games in program history as the Ospreys defeated Florida State, 15-14, in ten innings last Wednesday
The game saw four lead changes and three ties before finishing just short of four hours
It was the first-ever game between the two teams at Harmon Stadium
UNF won after scoring three in the bottom of the tenth, being capped off by a wild pitch that allowed Cherokee Nichols to score after he laced a game-tying two RBI double earlier in the inning

Start it Up

North Florida got the most of its starting pitching during a doubleheader sweep of UCA two weekends ago
Dominick Madonna and Clayton Boroski combined to go for 14 innings, permitting just four earned runs
Both twirled career-long outings, with Boroski starting off a combined shutout as Lance Bolton nailed down the seven-out save
Love also went six frames, taking the no decision against Florida State Wednesday
Righty Will Ohme tied a career-long outing by going 4.1 innings en route to the win against USF Tuesday.

Touch 'em All

North Florida surpassed the 50 home run milestone
It's the first time the Ospreys have reached that marker in a season since 2015
UNF has 20 more home runs this season than all of last year
North Florida is 13 homers shy of setting the UNF DI-era single season record

Top Ten Worthy

Austin Brinling made a diving catch with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth, recording the final out as UNF defeated Jacksonville State, 5-3, Friday, April 7.
Brinling's play earned him a spot at number six in SportsCenter's Top 10 that evening

Freshman Records

Alex Lodise has already set the UNF single season freshman home run record, belting 10, one better than the previous record
The shortstop is well on his way to more freshman records. He's third in runs (40), tied for sixth in doubles (10), tied for fourth in triples (2), second in RBI (45) and, tied for eighth in hits (50) tied for second in stolen bases (6).
Alex Lodise scored five runs in a win against Fairfield this season, the most runs by a UNF freshman in a single game in at least the DI era
Lodise set the UNF single season freshman home run record
Lodise had five hits Saturday April 1, tying the UNF DI era program record

Green Light Means Go

Austin Brinling and Aidan Sweatt are a combined 29-for-33 in stolen bases this season
UNF is already only 13 stolen bases from setting the UNF DI-era single season team record set with 71 in 2013

Walk-Off Dubs Hit Different

UNF has won via walk-off six times this season
The latest was one of the wildest as North Florida walked off on Florida State, 15-14, via a wild pitch in the bottom of the tenth
March 25 Alex Lodise hit the first grand slam of his career with a towering big fly on a hanging breaking ball, sending UNF to a 16-6 mercy rule win
One day later, Aidan Sweatt and Austin Brinling combined for three ninth inning RBI to give North Florida an 8-7 walk-off to clinch the series
Former UCF Knight, Jakob Runnels, mashed a walk-off three-run home run with two outs in the ninth, giving North Florida a 4-2 win against UCF March 21
In the first game of the year, Runnels hit a walk-off pinch hit RBI single in a 3-2 10-inning win against Murray State
Drew Leinenbach put down a walk-off squeeze bunt in a 6-5 10-inning win against Fordham March 4

Weekend Winning
UNF has won six weekend series of the season, taking two of three from Murray State, Villanova, Fairfield, Stetson and UCA while sweeping a four-game set with Fordham.

Players Mentioned

Lance Bolton

Clayton Boroski

Austin Brinling

Drew Leinenbach

Alex Lodise

Avery Love

Dominick Madonna

Cherokee Nichols

Will Ohme

Jakob Runnels

Aidan Sweatt

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